David Lee Summers's Blog, page 6

Airships and Dragons

In 2001, I wrote and sold a short story called “The Slayers” to Realms of Fantasy Magazine. It told the story of a young man named Rado who signed aboard the airship Slayer to hunt dragons. Once aboard, he learns that the captain is obsessed with capturing and killing the rarest, largest, and most dangerous of all dragons. In short, it was a steampunkish retelling of Moby-Dick featuring dragons and airships. I was really excited when the issue arrived and I saw my name on the cover alongside...

Reality and Perception

I have a degree in physics. It was not an easy degree to obtain, but I stuck with it because I’m fascinated by the processes that make our universe work. The nature of physics is such that it also must be concerned about how our perception can affect our interpretation of results. Some of this is straightforward. We carry biases and expectations into any experiment we conduct and if we’re not careful, those can sway our interpretation of results. Some of it is a little more direct but less obvio...

Feeling Monstrous

In my early 20s, I began noticing shooting pains in my feet. By the time I reached 26, it was bad enough and I had good enough insurance that I finally talked to a doctor about it. I was sent for X-rays and given a referral to a podiatrist. When I had my first appointment, the nice podiatrist looked at my X-rays and I watched his eyes go wide just before looking at me. “You actually walked in here?” he asked. He then showed me the X-ray. One of my toe joints had decayed so badly that it had slip...

Lower Decks – The Final Season

Today finds me at El Paso Comic Con. I’m at table A15. If you’re in the area, I hope you’ll stop by and say “hello.” One of the convention’s special guests is Brent Spiner who is most famous for playing the android Data in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Most recently, I heard his voice as he voiced the disembodied head of a version of Data who came from a purple U.S.S. Enterprise from a parallel universe in the final season of Star Trek: Lower Decks.

Set aboard the U.S.S. Cerritos, Lower ...

El Paso Comic Con 2025

El Paso Comic Con is a community-based pop culture experience for all that reflects today’s fandom. At El Paso Comic Con you’ll get to indulge in all your favorite fantasy, sci-fi, and other pop culture genres, such as comics, games, film, television, and more! You’ll also get to attend panels and workshops hosted by creative pros as well as get autographs and photo ops with your favorite creators and celebrities.

The 2025 El Paso Comic Con dates are April 11-13. It will occur at the El Pa...

Dune – Part Two

I grew up with the original Star Wars trilogy. I was ten years old when the first film, now subtitled A New Hope was released. Three years later came The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi followed three years later. The time between those installments felt forever long back in those days.

During my graduate school days, I heard about a remarkable thing. They were filming sequels to the movie Back to the Future. Parts 2 and 3 would be filmed together and they would be released close t...

A Vampire on New Mars

Happy April Fools Day! I hope no one out there has made a fool of you! Despite the day and its reputation I do have a good book to share with you. Three weeks ago, when I discussed Tanith Lee’s fine collection of Fairy Tale retellings, Red as Blood, I promised to continue exploring her works. As I browsed her catalog, I found myself intrigued by the short novel Sabella.

First published in 1980, Sabella is set on an Earth colony called Novo Mars. The title character is a vampire who learns ...

Hearing and Visualizing the Near Future

I recently agreed to engage in an experiment to bring two of my novels into audio format in a way that’s affordable both for me and for you. The first of these novels, The Solar Sea, is now available as an audiobook. In the novel, whales around the world changed their songs the day scientists announced the discovery of powerful new particles around Saturn’s largest moon which could solve Earth’s energy needs. The Quinn Corporation rushes to build a solar sail space craft to unlock the secret...

Converging Lions

After my recent excursions to some of the more recently published Oz books, I decided to return to the original series and pick up where I left off. I’m now up to the 17th novel in the Oz series, The Cowardly Lion of Oz by Ruth Plumly Thompson. The novel opens up in one of the many principalities in Oz called Mudge, hidden away within a desert region of the Munchkin country. Mudge’s leader, Mustafa, has been entertaining himself by collecting lions from all over Oz. As the novel opens, he has so...

An Easy Death

Today finds me at Wild Wild West Con in Tucson, Arizona. If you’re in town, I hope you’ll take time to drop by. There are lots of people dressed in their steampunk finest, but you don’t need Victorian clothes to attend. You’re more than welcome to just arrive and soak up the atmosphere. You can get more information about the event at the Wild Wild West Con website. As the event approached, I wanted to read something to get me in the mood for a fun steampunk weekend. I decided I might give Charla...